MEMBERSHIP AND CODES

Amie Jordan

The Queen's Rising

By:
Rebecca Ross

Narrated by:
Suzanne Elise Freeman

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
10

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
10

Story

4 out of 5 stars
10

Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron. Growing up in Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her. While some are born with a talent for one of the five passions - art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge - Brienna struggled to find hers until she chose knowledge. However, Brienna's greatest fear comes true - she is left without a patron. But months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage.

Liked this book more than I expected

Liked this book more than I expected

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 23-09-18

This story was better than I expected it to be from the description, and it has real potential to be really engaging and interesting. It was a nice change to come across a YA book that isnt rammed full of mythical creatures for once these days.

Felt like the ages of some characters should have been made more clear. I won't name names for those that are yet to read, and once you read it you'll know what I mean anyway, but I felt that some people were just a little bit too young to engage how they did with characters that could be interpreted as a little bit too old, or not their usual 'go to person', when you really think about the timeline of it all.

But I did finish this book feeling disgruntled the next one isn't out yet and I have to wait to find out what comes next, so I would recommend.

Onyx & Ivory

By:
Mindee Arnett

Narrated by:
Khristine Hvam

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
25

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

Story

4 out of 5 stars
22

They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king of Rime. Cast out of the nobility, Kate now works for the royal courier service. Only the most skilled ride for the Relay and only the fastest survive, for when night falls, the drakes - deadly flightless dragons - come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: She is a wilder, born with forbidden magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals.

More Than Pleasantly Surprised

More Than Pleasantly Surprised

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 23-09-18

I actually really enjoyed this audiobook.

It was refreshing, most YA books that involve any kind of fantasy are all very samey-samey now, all seem to include fae and magic and everyone is immortal and theres always an evil queen that has a soul aim to destroy the whole world somewhere etc but this book wasn't exactly like that.

This is more 'real life', yeah, some people have magic but it's not the 'i am magic and i can do anything i want' kind that makes you roll your eyes when the main character can do everything they want no matter how outlandish or ridiculous just to fit round a weird storyline, it has its limits and the rest of the world around them is relatively realistic. All humans - aka not jam packed with fairies or goblins or monsters or whatever, they live in houses and ride horses and have standard human weapons etc. Basically apart from the odd fantasy bits for excitement, I found this more relatable in some ways than some YA books out there.

The narrator is great, really engaging and sounds enthusiastic. I'd have given the story 4.5 stars if i could, as the beginning is slow to start, but as this is going to be a series, it's understandable that it needs to be set up properly.

The review below said it was good but they wouldn't listen to any more in the series however I am interested to see what happens next. Has good potential. Would recommend.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Glass Sword

By:
Victoria Aveyard

Narrated by:
Amanda Dolan

Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
211

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
190

Story

4 out of 5 stars
191

If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different. Mare's blood is red - the colour of common folk - but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from the prince and friend who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Speechless

Good Storyline - main character a bit of a 'mare.

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 05-05-18

Storyline is good enough to continue with, can't help draw comparisons with the storyline against both the Hunger Games and Frost Blood series a bit but there is enough 'newness' to the storyline for it to feel a coincidence or inspiration more than a rip off.

Pun not even intended in the headline, I just noticed it, but she really is a nightmare. I mean, don't get me wrong she's not awful, but she is ungrateful, and sometimes unintelligent in decision making, and is breathtakingly frustrating that she just stays silent rather than stating the blindingly obvious when challenged sometimes. I don't know how many times we had to be told she doesn't trust anyone, she loves Cal, but she doesn't trust him, she likes Farley but doesn't quite trust her, she likes all her new blood pals, but doesn't really trust them all. Asks a lot of them in return for no trust. Also don't know how many times we have to be told she loves Cal but feels like they can't be together. Ok cool, stop saying it then, we heard you the first time. Feel like the narrator just worried too much about trying to get certain points and feelings across and it became irritating/repetitive after a while.

Narrator is really good though, enthusiastic and kept me engaged.

I would recommend this series despite Mare being a bit annoying.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

By:
Becky Albertalli

Narrated by:
Michael Crouch

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
673

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
627

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
620

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, read by Michael Crouch. Straight people should have to come out too. And the more awkward it is, the better. Simon Spier is 16 and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for. But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated. Because for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal.... It's a holy freaking huge awesome deal.

Simon vs the homosapien agenda

Didn't expect to feel how I did at all

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-04-18

I'm not new to the gay scene from a straight point of view, I went through the high school coming out experience when my best friend did it and my sister is married to a woman so I kinda thought that I'd just be like, 'ok cool, whatever, no big deal, bit soppy and boring' after this story like I would be with any straight romance thing, and not find the novelty in the fact that there are not that many books of this type out there... but I'm so pleasantly happy and surprised by this novel. I actually listened to the whole thing pretty much in one sitting as I sat at my work desk today and in the roughly 6 hours I listened I laughed, cried, felt happy, angry, cute, upset and triumphant in that space of time - a rare feat for a book to truly bring out pretty much every emotion in a person especially in such a small space of time. It's no kind of deep plot with twists and turns and shocking reveals (I'd worked it all out just past about half way) so if you're looking for something mega intense you're not gonna get it in a 6 hour highschool diary set up. But it was just right for something thought provoking, but uplifting and not too serious. It ends perfectly, and I kinda want a second book just to get more info on how Simons life pans out going forward, but how it ends is pretty much how it should have and be left at that. Also, the narrator is brilliant. He gets it just right so it doesn't feel like its being read and his tone of voice and delivery of funny bits is perfect.

Intuition

Premonition, Book 2

By:
Amy Bartol

Narrated by:
Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
23

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
24

Evie doesn't open her eyes so she can't see him, but she can smell him. He thickens the air she breathes, choking her with his scent... his aroma. She shivers. She has to resist. If she's not strong, then she will be relegated to the same fate as this predator whose sickness infects her even now. But now, she craves him and he knows that; he has been counting on her need to end the gnawing pain. How he would savor her surrender. She's alive, but how much longer will it take until she begs him not to be?

Great potential, a few pitfalls

Great potential, a few pitfalls

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 21-01-18

Firstly, Emily Woo Zeller is a great narrator - there has been books in the past I have given up on listening to within a few chapters because the narration lacks any engagement but she is fab. Her Irish/Deep South accents are a bit off, but you still know what shes trying to do and which characters she's being before their names are said.

The overall storyline does have good potential and I have given it 4* because I will listen to the rest, but it is just a complete rip off cross between Twilight and the Mortal Instruments. But it is interesting enough to want to know what happens next. I do think some of the characters just accept completely random stuff too easily and with a better writing skill they could appear to have more reaction/personality.

The author is a bit cringe when writing about the Irish lot, she has obviously done a generic google search for pointers as every character is called a very stereotypical Irish name. I actually want to die of embarrassment for her that all of the Irish clan are referred to as 'fella's' every time they are mentioned in serious conversation because she has so got the use of that word that she's clearly found online and doesn't use herself completely wrong. It's more of a 'hey fella's what do you want to drink' used by a rough drunk bloke at a pub not a 'the fellas are coming to kill us' at a life or death war council kinda word.

I'd still recommend, just think it could be a little better.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

By:
Sarah J. Maas

Narrated by:
Jennifer Ikeda

Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
425

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
393

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
394

When 19-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin - one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

Really disappointed in the narration choice

Not yet actually finished this book but I'm really struggling to get through it due to the narrator. She speaks really slowly and monotonously and does not remotely engage the listener.

Really gutted about this, I love the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, partly so because of how good the narrator of that series is, so I had really high hopes for this series. I do kinda feel like the story is dragging on but in all honesty I'm not sure if thats just because of how it is being read. If I read a hardback copy or it was narrated by the lady that does the Throne of Glass series for example, I think my experience would be entirely different.

Will soldier through to the end maybe, but so far not inspired to listen to the next one as I've already seen its the same narrator. May bother to buy the book instead if the story picks up a bit.

The Gender Game 2: The Gender Secret

By:
Bella Forrest

Narrated by:
Jason Clarke,
Elizabeth Evans,
Rebecca Soler

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
182

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
167

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
165

Gliding over the treacherous Green in a shaky aircraft that she has no idea how to land, Violet Bates is still in shock. The harrowing events of the previous night play over in her mind as she asks herself question after question. Why did Lee Desmond Bertrand behave the way he did?What is the truth about the mysterious silver egg st owed beneath her seat? What happened to Viggo, and where is her brother? Is either of them still alive?

Great

so so

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 05-10-17

To be honest, I downloaded the first book in this series as something to try to get into whilst i wait for the next book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas of which i enjoyed to come out, and the synopsis of first book of this series kinda felt like a similar theme.. strong female character battling a bigger political issue, lives at stake, promises of romance blossoming, all that, but i was a little disappointed that it just didn't seem written very strongly. But it does sometimes take me a book or two to get into a series so i persevered on with this book.

I don't know, the story is just missing a little bit of something for me, it seems a bit like it was a draft or two short before being published and should have been revised and refined a little more before the final cut. I feel like massive story potential has been a little wasted by too little effort on the technical writing side as nothing is descriptive enough for me to create any interesting visuals in my head as i listen. Also not a mega fan of the 1st person thing. It makes me not engage with the other characters around as much because everything about them has to be said as the opinion of the character talking.

Also, I got to this book and they have swapped the narrator of the first book to the same narrator as the Throne of Glass series! Part of me enjoyed that series so much because of such a skilled narrator in engaging the audience and the voices but now all the characters are merging in my head listening to the same voices and tones, especially as some of the characters even have the same names - i do think that each major book series should have one defining narrator and stick to it rather than swapping them about, and not let the same narrator narrate very similar storylines in which readers that like that theme will possibly listen to both. It just becomes confusing and makes the experience less enjoyable having to get used to a different narrator every book.

Empire of Storms

By:
Sarah J. Maas

Narrated by:
Elizabeth Evans

Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
572

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
535

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
536

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't. As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Great story, even better narrator

Favourite book of series so far

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-10-17

I have listened to this book twice now and I found that the second time round there were a lot of little things that I missed the first time, or that suddenly it clicked and my understanding of bits and pieces became clearer. The stories are well written enough that despite there being now many, many characters in play you know each of them on a personal level and could reel off a few facts or personality traits of each, making you fully engage and empathise or understand each character. I do have to say that I am finding the arrogance of Aelin to become quite irritating now and would like to see the author allow her to be more humble or at least attempt to listen to her companions, rather than storming around like a petulant teenager doing what she wants in temper and getting all her own way, and all the much, much older and experienced characters seem to just let it happen as if it's totally okay. I hope it doesnt continue in such a way because it is getting a little unrealistic (if you can call any fantasy story realistic, you know what I mean!)But otherwise, I have read Tower of Dawn (not as interesting) and eagerly away the next book to find out what happens next

Tower of Dawn

A Throne of Glass Novel

By:
Sarah J. Maas

Narrated by:
Elizabeth Evans

Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
426

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
389

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
389

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the king of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken. His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica - the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire.

Amazing performance makes up for it

Don't even know if I can be bothered to finish

Overall

2 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-09-17

What would have made Tower of Dawn better?

If it wasn't just about Chaol. Last book left us hanging with Alein kidnapped and a lot of drama going on, to leave us with effectively a 2 year wait from that book to the book after this being published with no word of whats happening to the main character. If Chaol was still the same as the initial books then fine, but he's just become too grumpy, annoying and self pitying and 22 hours listening to that is wearing... I'm almost at the mid way point and don't know if I can be bothered going right to the end. Massive let down as other books are great

What will your next listen be?

no this, thats for sure.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

as I haven't yet listened to the end I can't comment but so far... none.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment.

Any additional comments?

the last book didn't involve any Chaol so it makes sense this one should feature him heavily, but maybe the last book and this book should have been sliced and mixed together so there was a bit of both in each to make it more interesting.

2 of 4 people found this review helpful

Alanatomy

The Inside Story

By:
Alan Carr

Narrated by:
Alan Carr

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
520

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
479

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
482

In his first novel,
Look Who It Is!, Alan told his story ('oh and what a life') with his unique twist of natural, observational and tongue-in-cheek humour that made him famous. Alan Carr described his life story in his own words, from growing up in a football-mad family in Northampton to his rise as one of Britain's best-loved comedians. And now he is ready to divulge the next chapter in bursts of hilarious Technicolor.

Brilliant second book, full of the stuff we want to hear about.

Warning: Do not read if you have a blocked nose

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 24-08-17

Where does Alanatomy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In terms of Autobiographies - at the top. Funny, truthful, sincere and fair. Does not shy away from the truth even if it's a tough subject and Alans truthful but but fair commentary takes away would could be an otherwise awkward discussion.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alan...

Which character – as performed by Alan Carr – was your favourite?

Some of his stories of his time on the Friday Night Project with Justin Lee Collins had me unable to breathe though a mixture of laughing and having a cold - once I genuinely thought I may suffocate. His recounting of episodes that include Michael Barrymore are completely hilarious

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His frank discussion about struggles with alcohol both with himself and his husband.

Any additional comments?

Hilarious throughout, would highly reccommend and have listened to more than once already